Starting in class C: not completely defective.

Arc 1 chapter 9: A strong leader. An interesting student.

"Everyone, we need to get our shit together. You don't have the right to refuse." Ryuuen announced. His smile was nowhere to be seen. That meant that he was actually serious.
After Ryuuen said these words, the class erupted into an uproar. It was complete chaos. Ryuuen simply sighed in response. Then:
"QUIET!"
Instantly, the class fell silent. Everyone looked at Ryuuen, waiting for him to start punching someone.
"I understand you're all confused right now, but that's just what the school wants. We need to think clearly and strategically here."
I had to hand it to Ryuuen. Not only was he gifted strategically and physically, he was a potent public speaker. It was a wonder he wasn't in class B, or even A for that matter.
"First things first," Ryuuen said, looking at the notes he had made during Sakagami-sensei's speech. "Item number 1 on the agenda: no more being late to class, and no talking or using a cell phone in class. Anyone who is late for, talks or uses a cell phone during class, will be thoroughly punished."
This went without saying. It was almost entirely those things that had lost us 510 class points. And I could easily guess what punishment would befall someone stupid enough to ignore his direct orders.
"Item number 2 on the agenda: get better grades. Kaneda, Shiina. You two got the highest scores on the exam. I want you to tutor the people who failed. Anyone who didn't fail, but would still like some tutoring, you are welcome to go with them. But try not to cause them any trouble."
This also went without saying. It would be imperative to our classes success to pass every single exam. Ishizaki and the others who failed would have to improve their grades for the upcoming midterms.
"Now all of you. Go."
Everyone made to leave.
"Ayanokouji, stay here."
Damn. Why me.
I stayed behind, and said goodbye to Shiina and Ibuki.
"What is it, Ryuuen?" I asked.
"We need to conduct recon on the other classes." Ryuuen said.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, we need to know the strengths and weaknesses of each class. Luckily, I already know the major figures for each class, but we should conduct further research."
So what Ryuuen meant was, he wanted to see if there were any other competent people in the other classes that hadn't made themselves well known in the school.
"Okay then, tell me about class A." I said.
"Well, from the looks of it, class A is generally just better than the other classes, and by now, they probably know they're better. Right now, there are two central figures in class A: Sakayanagi Arisu, and Katsuragi Kouhei. Out of the two, Sakayanagi is said to be the most intelligent."
Ok, this was good information Ryuuen had gathered. I was surprised he had taken the initiative to try and scope out the other classes, even before we knew this was a competition.
"Alright. What about class B?" I asked.
"Class B has one unanimous leader: Ichinose Honami. Her social network among the first years is rivalled only by Kushida Kikyou, of class D. Her right hand man, or should I say her loyal dog, is Kanzaki Ryuuji. He's above average in both intelligence and physical ability. The entire class is unified under those two."
Ok, so class B was dangerous. It would be hard to break them easily.
"And what about class D?"
"It's foolish to just label them all as defective, like the school did. From what I've seen, there are a few of them who could run circles around people even in class A. They are also the least unified class in the grade, probably even in the entire school. Kushida Kikyou, who I mentioned earlier, has the joint largest social network in the grade, among both boys and girls. Hirata Yousuke is the de facto class leader, and is in the soccer club. He's popular among girls for being a pretty boy. He is dating Karuizawa Kei, who has a high social standing, and has a social group that spans multiple classes, but is made up entirely of girls. Kouenji Rokusuke, who I'm sure you've heard of by now, is both physically and mentally a once in a generation talent, by some accounts. Luckily, he has little to no interest in day to day affairs. He probably won't be a big threat, unless he decides to get involved."
Ok. Now we had to formulate a strategy to advance to class A. Knowing Ryuuen, this would probably involve violence of some kind.
"Ok, I would like to add some other people to the class D list." I said.
"Go on." Ryuuen prompted.
"Horikita Suzune. Although she is weak socially, she is probably one of the best and brightest in the grade. She isn't very popular, however. And then there's Sudou. I don't know his second name, but he has a physique nearly as impressive as Albert. I doubt he'll make it past the midterms though. I propose helping Sudou advance in the midterms." I said.
"And why on earth should we do that?" Ryuuen asked.
"Firstly, I can get a favour out of class D with it. Secondly, Sudou is a net negative for class D. We can exploit that weakness at a later date." I reasoned.
"Kukuku you have a messed up mind, thinking like that. I like it." Ryuuen smirked.
"After the midterms, I gather you will want to use violence to advance?"
"Yes. Violence is an effective tool, as I'm sure you're aware." Ryuuen said.
"I ask that you hold off on that front, at least until we know how the school will punish violence against another class." I said.
"Obviously. I may be in class C, but give me some credit." Ryuuen made a mock sad face.
"Don't worry, I was just making sure." I said.
"Do you have a plan for getting the students who failed the exam in our class to pass?" Ryuuen asked.
"Yes. I, I do, in fact." I replied.
"What is it?"
I explained my plan to Ryuuen in detail.
"Kukuku, are you sure it'll work?" He asked.
"Don't worry. It'll work." I said, confidently.

Unknown pov

I was looking over the entrance examination scores for the new first year students, when something caught my eye.
There was one student that scored 69 on all of his entrance exams. He even scored 69 on his end of month test.
(Nice 😏)
I checked the students name and class.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, class 1-C. Why did that name ring a bell to me. I called my secretary in.
"Yes, sir?" She said.
"Can you remember a student called Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, class 1-C?"
"Hmm. Ah yes, I think I hear vice-president Nagumo talking about him. Something about chess. And Kiryuuin-san."
Kiryuuin? And Nagumo? Alarm bells started to sound in my head. But I do remember Nagumo talking about a chess tournament during the first week. I unfortunately wasn't able to attend due to business I had to conduct.
"Thank you, Tachibana-san, for refreshing my memory."
She bowed and left.
This was worrying. If both Nagumo AND Kiryuuin were involved with this boy, he must be something special. I needed to keep an eye on him.
After all, it's the duty of the student council president to keep an eye on noteworthy students.

Authors notes
1242 words.
Not much to say.
Ryuuen already conducted research into the other classes, as Ayanokouji made him more suspicious of the school and the s system.
Ryuuen also showed himself to be able to keep calm in such a stressful situation.
Kaneda and Shiina are leading study groups.
Ayanokouji has a plan in case tutoring doesn't help them pass.
Not much else to say.
I just watched the first episode of Akito the exiled. God, it's fucking amazing.
Hope you're all doing well, and I hope you enjoyed.
(P.S. does anyone know how to add text to speech to the story?)
👋